Feliz Ano Nuevo 2008

Happy New Year Everyone! I spent New Years Eve here at the house with Pastor Casto and Marlene. I helped cook the food and clean the house. We celebrated New Years with a dinner - there were 11 of us. We had 'asado' - like a roast, salad of cooked potatoes, cooked carrots, peas, and apples - in a mayonase dressing, 'hallaca' - the traditional food for Christmas and New Years - it is not like anything American. It has a corn meal soft mushy outside with meat, olives, spices inside - (taco style) - and they wrap it in a banana leaf and boil it. Peel the banana leaf off and eat it. I tried 2 different 'hallacas' one I liked the other I didn't like.

New Years is a huge celebration here everyone gets dressed up - and the set of fireworks and fire crackers for HOURS. I mean from 7 in the evening until 1 or 2 in the morning. Everyone in the streets setting off fireworks, dancing. . . The sky was filled with smoke from the fireworks. It was amazing how many fireworks were going off all over the city, let alone to think about how many were all over the country!!! Everyone stays up late with family and then sleep in late b/c nothing is open on New Years Day!